Urges Congress to pass legislation creating
comprehensive pathway to United States citizenship.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As reported by the Assembly Homeland Security and
State Preparedness Committee on March 14, 2013, with amendments.

An Assembly
Resolution urging the Congress of
the United States to pass legislation to establish a path to citizenship.

Whereas, America has a long and rich heritage of
immigration but our current immigration system is broken as immigrants are
faced with an insufficient numbers of visas for workers to support the U.S.
labor force, arbitrary visa caps creating backlogs and separating families,
exploitation by employers through wage and workplace violations, and inadequate
government infrastructure to support the immigrant population; and

Whereas, Comprehensive immigration reform must provide
law-abiding, tax paying immigrant workers and their families with an
opportunity to obtain legal permanent residency and eventually United States
citizenship through fair and reasonable requirements; and

Whereas, The reduction of immigration backlogs should be
included as a part of comprehensive immigration reform so that United States
citizens may be reunited with family members requesting to immigrate; and

Whereas,1[Temporary worker program policies which
provide workers with full labor and civil rights protections and the
opportunity to pursue legal permanent residency in the United States should be
included in comprehensive immigration reform]Any new worker visa program must provide
workers with all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States,
portability of visas so that workers can change jobs, and the ability for
workers to petition for permanent residency1; and

Whereas, A meaningful opportunity for immigrant students
to pursue a college education after high school graduation should be included
in comprehensive immigration reform; and

Whereas, United States immigration policies must actively
promote the civic integration of newcomers to decrease the barriers when they
attempt to acquire the skills needed to participate in our nation’s civic life
such as English instruction and civics proficiency courses; and

Whereas, Comprehensive immigration reform must include a
discussion of the fundamental cause of migration to the United States, such as the
need for sustainable social and economic development in the communities where
migrants originate, and our nation must more actively pursue partnership
opportunities with sending nations to determine feasible development strategies
that would enable them to better meet the economic needs of their population;
and

Whereas, The federal government must take action to
reform our
immigration laws to continue our heritage of immigration by incorporating
President Obama's Executive Order into law which grants work permits and
permission to stay in America for anyone brought to this country before they
were 16 years of age and by establishing a path to citizenship for all immigrants
who have not committed criminal offenses and protects the unity and sanctity of
the family; and

Whereas, The federal government has the exclusive
authority to develop, implement, and enforce immigration policy under the United
States Constitution, and the regulation of immigration is solely the
responsibility of the federal government; and

Whereas, Comprehensive immigration reform must strengthen
our national security and the public safety of our communities and
neighborhoods as the United States has the right of every sovereign nation to
secure its borders through laws that regulate the entry of persons from other
countries; and

Whereas, The United States must provide resources for
immigration enforcement and implement enforcement measures that will accomplish
these goals in an effective and humane manner; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House calls upon
the United States Congress to promptly pass legislation to create a comprehensive pathway to United States
citizenship.

2. Duly authenticated
copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and
attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the President and Vice
President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leader of the United
States Senate, and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House
of Representatives, and to each member of Congress elected from the State of
New Jersey.